Gennaro Meoli, 76, aka Jerry Mayo - trumpeter with Freddy and the Bellboys
aadavid
GENNARO MEOLI had two careers, both of which brought him recognition,
one internationally and one local.
As the trumpet player for Freddy and the Bellboys, an early rock 'n'
roll band, he toured the world, playing with many of the stars of his
era, wowing fans in Las Vegas, London, and Paris, and anywhere else
where there was a stage and a dance floor.
And back in his beloved Philadelphia, Gennaro Meoli was shirtmaker to
the stars, recognized wherever he went in Center City as the man who
dressed politicians and celebrities in the city.
In fact, he was the unofficial "Mayor of 17th Street," hailed on the
street by pals and fans.
He had to stop and kibitz with so many people, he had trouble making
it to the next block.
"Everyone stopped us," said his son, actor and film executive
Christian Meoli.
"And he would hold court at the bar of the Prime Rib. He was a very
personable guy."
Gennaro Meoli, a South Philly native whose trumpet was heard from
Vegas to Australia and many stops in between, but who was happy to
come back to Philly to work at his grandfather's tailor shop, died
Friday of complications of a blood disorder.
He was 76 and was living in Miami.
Jerry was just out of Southeast Catholic High School when he
auditioned for Freddie Bell, a fellow South Philadelphian who was
putting together a musical group.
The band played rock 'n' roll before rock 'n' roll existed.
They appeared in a couple of movies, "Rock Around the Clock" and
"Rumble on the Docks," and were featured throughout the country at
nightclubs and theaters and performed on TV.
Among their hits was "Giddy-Up-A-Ding-Dong" and "Hound Dog," which
Elvis Presley heard the band play and made a big hit for himself.
Gennaro called himself Jerry Mayo in those years.
When the group played the Sands in Las Vegas, other musicians and fans
would congregate between 1 and 5 a.m. for impromptu sessions.
They also played the Riverside in Reno, and on various TV shows,
including Dave Garroway's "Wide Wide World," and the "Colgate Comedy
Hour" with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
In the spring of 1957, Freddie Bell and the Bellboys had a successful
tour of the pre-Beatles British Isles.
They played London before throngs of cheering teenagers who had been
listening to "Giddy-Up-A-Ding-Dong" on records before the group's
arrival.
The London New Musical Express wrote that the group's performance in
"Rock Around the Clock" was "electrifying."
"I go back with Jerry to when I was 13 years old on 'Bandstand,' "
said entertainer Jerry Blavat. "He was one of a kind back in the time.
It's an end of an era in that world."
"He was a ladies' man and a man's man, too," said Joe Segreto,
longtime manager of Louis Prima's band. "He was a prince then; he died
a prince; he'll be a prince with the angels up there."
"Many people loved him," said his son, a TV and film actor who is an
executive with the film company Big Foot Entertainment in Los Angeles.
"My brothers and I were incredibly proud to have him as our father."
The band lasted into the mid-'60s, at which time Jerry returned to
Philadelphia to work with his grandfather, Louis Meoli, in a tailoring
business then in Roxborough. It later moved to 17th and Walnut
streets.
Gennaro became the shirtmaker for a number of prominent
Philadelphians, including Frank Rizzo as mayor and police
commissioner.
His former wife, Sandra Bandera Meoli, died in 2004.
Besides his son, he is survived by two other sons, Nicolas and Gigi
Meoli; a sister, Julia Masselli; one grandchild and longtime companion
Reggie Rubin.
Services: Memorial service 11 a.m. June 22 at Monti-Rago Funeral Home,
2533 S. Broad St.